February 11th, 2016

Sales pace surprises at Four Seasons condos

The owners of Prime Building Advantage are known for sales at Baltimore’s elite, new condominium buildings: the Ritz-Carlton, Silo Point, the new towers at HarborView.

But even the experts, intimate with a real estate market worlds away from Baltimore’s traditional blue-collar rowhome trade, have been surprised by the appetite for units at their latest listing: private residences at the Four Seasons in Harbor East.

About a third of the 62 new condos — which are still under construction — are already under contract, their marble counters and bird’s-eye Inner Harbor views snapped up by wealthy buyers from the Baltimore region, said Shawn Evans, who owns Prime Building Advantage with partner Charlie Hatter.

“That happened quicker than we anticipated,” he said. “We are exceeding expectations and reaching price points in the market that have never been seen before.”

William Rich, director of the multifamily practice at the Delta Associates research firm, said it’s rare to see a luxury property selling units at a faster pace than the market average.

The 200 International Drive building is one of the few condo projects under construction in the region, which may explain part of the demand, but even so, “it is remarkable given the pricing those units are going for,” Rich said.

Evans said the sales signal that the region’s high-end housing market is strengthening. Certainly more baby boomers are looking to downsize and escape the hassle of long commutes and home maintenance.